eclectic grandpa

Eclectic grandpa is a fashion trend that dresses young people like a stylish grandfather: knit sweater vests, cardigans, pleated trousers, loafers, flat caps and clashing vintage prints. It took off in early 2024.

What eclectic grandpa means

The look borrows from how Silent Generation grandfathers dressed from the late 1940s to the early 1960s, then shakes it up. Colorful knitwear like knit polos and camp-collar shirts, braces, loafers with dress socks, wide pleated trousers, corduroy and tweed, and above all the flat cap.

The “eclectic” part is the mixing: a patterned vest, a striped shirt and a bright sock that shouldn’t work together and somehow do. It’s also called grandpacore, and it revives what the British have long called the “young fogey” look.

Examples

• “I raided my grandad’s wardrobe and accidentally went full eclectic grandpa.”
• “Sweater vest, loafers, flat cap. Eclectic grandpa, check.”
• “The thrift store is basically an eclectic grandpa starter kit.”

Where it came from

Wikipedia’s fashion histories date the grandpacore or eclectic grandpa trend to 2024, and Vogue covered it that January. Harry Styles, Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid and Tyler, the Creator are credited with helping bring it to the mainstream.

It’s the menswear-leaning sibling of the coastal grandmother look and of grandmillennial decor, part of a wider wave of fashion that treats older generations as style icons.

Related terms

• Coastal grandmother: linen, cashmere and beachy calm.
• Grandmillennial: grandma-style decor, updated.
• Old money aesthetic: understated, inherited-wealth style.
• Dark academia: tweed, books and moody libraries.

More looks with names are in our aesthetics guide.